In the expansive list of Marvel superhero ensembles, Midnight Suns (or Midnight Sons, as it has more often been called) is one of the lesser known teams. First established in in the 1990s, Midnight Suns is a group formed by Ghost Rider that has prominently featured characters that are more often tied to mystical elements of the Marvel universe such as Blade, Morbius, Moon Knight, and Doctor Strange. Now, with a new Midnight Suns video game set to release later this year, Marvel is bringing back the squad in the form of a five-issue miniseries. And while it remains to be seen how this series evolves, issue #1 primarily sets the stage for the conflict at hand and introduces the members comprising this version of Midnight Suns.
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Midnight Suns #1 doesn’t waste much time when it comes to introducing the key conflict at the center of this series. After having an apocaplyptic vision of the future, the young magician in training Zoe Laveau is shown to play a key role in an ensuing cataclysmic event. Having also seen this event via the same vision for themselves, this prompts Blade, Spirit Rider, Magik, Agatha Harkness, Nico Minoru, and Wolverine to come together and try and intercept Laveau before this chain of events can begin and, assumedly, destroy the world.
In brief, it’s still difficult for me to have strong feelings about the narrative that Midnight Suns spins in its first installment. The clear goal from writer Ethan Sacks was to merely assemble the new lineup that will comprise the Midnight Suns. This issue is even entitled “Rise of the Suns,” which shows it’s self-evident purpose is to get the team together and not much else. Fortunately, it accomplishes that aim quickly, which sets up future issues to then take these plot points and run with them.
The thing that excites me most about Midnight Suns moving forward is that the series seems like it will be folding in a number of other characters from the Marvel universe. Rather than just sticking with the same roster of familiar faces over the course of this miniseries, the final pages of MIdnight Suns #1 suggest that this story could look to incorporate characters that you might not think of when it comes to this team. While this could just be a one-off cameo, it does give me hope that Midnight Suns will end up going to places that I wouldn’t initially expect.
On the art front, Luigi Zagaria’s work in Midnight Suns #1 is commendable, but it feels like he hasn’t had much room to show off just yet, especially on the environmental design front. This is largely due to the fact that much of this opening issue takes place in a handful rooms and corridors. Character designs from Zagaria are basic, with facial expressions being limited. The style at hand here from Zagaria isn’t bad, but Midnight Suns also seems like it won’t be a series that I look to read primarily for the art. I’m crossing my fingers that my tune on this front changes as additional issues roll out.
For the most part, Midnight Suns #1 is straightforward and doesn’t do a whole lot to be considered overly good or bad. While there aren’t many thrilling moments in this issue, the stage has been set for this series to develop in an enjoyable manner with four upcoming installments.The success of Midnight Suns will really hinge on how it develops from this point, and to that end, I’m seeing more than a few reasons to be optimistic. If you’re finding yourself eager to play the Marvel’s Midnight Suns video game later this year, this new series seems like it could tide you over until the launch.
Published by Marvel Comics
On September 14, 2022
Written by Ethan Sacks
Art by Luigi Zagaria
Colors by Antonio Fabela
Letters by Joe Sabino
Cover by David Nakayama
